#source: lovecrafts

[twistingthread]

lovecrafts

[rancidooze]

[nemeyuko]

I had to write a paper on Herbert West Reanimator publications vs 1985 Stuart Gordon Film, and I had to restrain myself from calling out the racism of the publications and the sexism/misogyny of the film.

[dailydemonspotlight]

Slime - Day 59

Race: Foul

Arcana: Chariot

Alignment: Dark-Chaos

June 20th, 2024

...What is there even to talk about here? It's- it's just a slime, man!

Vee-ho, come on! There's gotta be something there! Just look beneath the surface!

I'd rather not?! Look at this thing! It's disgusting!

cOme OooN mAn.. yoU doN'T gotTA Do mE liKe thaT...

Don't you dare insult my friend, ho! Look, even with all generic monsters, there's stuff to dig into, right? Besides, this skit is get-hee-ng annoying! Vee-ho, just go ah-hee-d and start!

...Jesus Christ, okay. How do I even begin with this? SMT has plenty of classical monster tropes that it has its own spins on- whether it be werewolves, vampires, or, well... slimes. Especially in the earlier games in the series, when the concepts of demons were far less well refined, fantasy monsters that some would call generic were dime-a-dozen, and slimes were no exception. In fact, they were everywhere! Sludge Slimes! Green Slimes! Blobs! However, as the series went on and the identity of a demon was given far more thought, most of these extra slime variants began to fade, leaving us only with the classic Slime and his big brother, Blob.

The thing is, nobody is really sure where the concept of Slimes came from, as there has been no single mythological mention that can definitively trace to the idea of a slime itself. This leaves us with a big issue, though! What the hell is this things deal?! I think I have an idea, but it's a bit strained. Slimes as we know them today originally appear all the way back in the first edition of D&D, back in 1974, but it's believed that the idea can be traced back even further, into the 1930's.

In fact, I think I have an idea that has been attested to by... Reddit. Yeah. Slimes may be based originally off of a type of monster described in the Lovecraft book 'At the Mountains of Madness' called a Shoggoth, combined with ideas of slime mold, and a general need for a generic enemy type. Shoggoth are described as massive amoeba-like creatures that glow gently and have eyes blinking all over them, able to form any organs and limbs they need at will. To quote,

It was a terrible, indescribable thing vaster than any subway train—a shapeless congeries of protoplasmic bubbles, faintly self-luminous, and with myriads of temporary eyes forming and un-forming as pustules of greenish light all over the tunnel-filling front that bore down upon us, crushing the frantic penguins and slithering over the glistening floor that it and its kind had swept so evilly free of all litter.

This idea can be further traced back to the idea of the Demiurge in the Hyperborean cycle, a series of short stories written by Clark Ashton Smith, but... that's when the trail runs cold. Clark was good friends with Lovecraft at the age, and they took many cues from each other, and I couldn't even find a good date for the original story that Ubbo-Sathla, the deity I'm referring to, originates from. What makes this even more frustrating is that I can't find a good hook to go into with this! What do I focus on? What do I circle around?!

Just think! C'mon!

You're not helping... but okay.

Slimes could also be based on the classic movie 'The Blob,' and combining that idea with Shoggoths could have given rise to this classical idea, but the thing is, linking an actual origin is difficult. It's incredibly possible that slimes are just the brainchild of a bunch of nerds who wanted to come up with an enemy for their very first TTRPG, and it stuck around ever since, becoming a staple of the fantasy genre for years upon years to come. Shit, slimes are insanely popular everywhere you look! There are entire manga revolving around them, the Dragon Quest series's main mascot and icon is a slime, the first boss in Terraria is a slime, and it's the most popular enemy type- shit, Gelatinous Cubes are some of the first things most people think of when they think of D&D! I gotta respect the fact that, in spite of the frustrations in researching these things, they're both cute and incredibly popular.

OoOoooO, dO I haVe faAns?

I'm getting a headache... I'm gonna go lay down.

She-hee left her computer on... I guess I'll wrap this up.

Overall, in the see-hee-ries, Slimes actual-hee have a rather unique disposition, especially in the Devil Summoner games! I really do enjoy the fact that they don't look too fri-hee-ndly in a lot of the games- as opposed to the marketable mascots of several other series, slimes in Megaten can be downright gross looking. Sorr-hee for the BTS drama in this one, I promise we'll get right back to it soon! Slimes are just a bit hard to look into, y'know.

...dO I gEt My caNdY noW?

Yeah, gimme a sec.

[pe4rl-diver]

"verlaine saves the day" "yosano saves the day" no. lovecraft comes back and saves the day.

[pathetic-gamer]

honestly hard to explain the effects of The King in Yellow on my brain. shoutout to signalis for pushing me to finally read it, would 100% recommend. it's on project Guttenberg

[stardusteyes]

Nodens: Welcome to the “Fuck Nyarlathotep” Club.

Randolph Carter: A meeting where we discuss the many ways in which the Crawling Chaos has tormented us and fucked up our lives.

Mahiro Yasaka: *awkwardly stands up* Uh, I think there’s been a misunderstanding.

Kurou Daijuuji: No, there hasn’t. Sit down.

[kaeyx]

Yeaah that's what I totally mean you can gaslite yourself into thinking Catlovevrafts mouth is completely normal! Until he starts licking you affectionately on a daily basis that is..

Honestly that might be the most normal behaviour you'll see from him, I can imagine he might sometimes forget he's not supposed to have two tails or that cats don't bark that's the other common human pet. Really your cat is fucking bonkers, are you sure he isn't secretly orange?

[heldenraider]

Played the first act of Source of Madness. This is a INCREDIBLE game, its AI-assisted visual style is very atmospheric and creates a sense of cyclopean horror. Many games get tagged "Lovecraftian", but don't convey the feel of the book, and this game gave me that feeling for the first time (in game format) in the first hour of play.. Shapeless and hybrid creatures are fascinating. Gameplay isn't perfect, but the game has quite a large variety of weapons, in the form of visuals in most. Protagonist is a mage after all... I tried to choose screenshots without spoilers, but the game is really extremely weird, and in a good or bad way - it's up to you to decide. The game feels unfinished, clumsy, but I can feel the soul and love of the developer in it. You should at least give it a chance!

[nxght-shxft]

my oc nyarlathotep!

[twistingthread]

lovecrafts

[rancidooze]

[krentle]

It's probably a cold take, but 'Shadow Over Innsmouth' isn't a very good book. It's filled with textual and subtexual racism, and at least half the book is different guys expositing at the main character at length. Don't get me wrong, some of the lore it adds to the mythos is neat. The setting and the premise of the book are fine to an extent. "Strange fishing town where there's a cult, the people look frog-like as they get older, and theres plenty of mysterious goings on" is perfectly fine and dare i say a good hook. On god tho, the handling of it is so sloppy and at the top of the list of most blatantly "just H.P. Lovecraft being racist" stories.

Mental this is like a famous one of his. It's not good 👎

[genericswordsmaiden]

hpl: i can excuse racism, but i draw the line at animal cruelty

greg: you can excuse racism??

[stardusteyes]

Ash: *sees a Deadite crawling around in the hallway* ...

Ash: *calmly takes out a walkie-talkie and turns it on* Come in, Randy.

Randolph: *picks up* Williams! I saw it! I saw it!

Ash: He’s right here, Randy. It’s looking at me.

Randolph: He’s an ugly little spud, isn’t he?

Ash: I think he can hear you, Randy.

Randolph: Don’t move. Without legs it’s won’t hurt you.

Deadite: *starts speed-crawling to Ash, loudly growling*

Ash: AAAAAAAAHHHHH-!

Randolph: *following the noise* Williams! Ash!

Ash: *now lying on the floor, covered in Deadite guts* Ugh...

Randolph: *finds him, kneels down* Williams! What happened? Are you okay?

Ash: I got him, but he’s all over me.

Randolph: That’s great! Actual physical contact! You can still move, right?

Ash: God, this reeks...

Herbert: *buzzes in* Carter. Carter! Come in, please.

Randolph: *picks up* West! I’m with Williams. The Deadite attacked him, but he managed to dispose of it. He’s currently covered in what’s left.

Herbert: That’s great, Carter. Save some for me.

[thechampagnesocialist]

Taking a break from writing a scenario by making memes about said scenario (I'm very normal about this project.)